The 3 Healthcare Gases and How They Are Used
The 3 Healthcare Gases and How They Are Used
Skilled doctors, patient nurses, attentive staff, and the latest medical equipment — these sound like the equation for stellar healthcare facilities. However, no facility is complete without a steady supply of healthcare gases.
Our team at nexAir has prepared an overview of the primary healthcare gases and their applications. This refresher helps you better serve your patients.
A Closer Look into the 3 Healthcare Gases
Hospitals, healthcare facilities, dental clinics, pharmaceutical research laboratories, and other medical settings use various gases in everyday operations. The three most commonly used are oxygen, nitrogen, and nitrous oxide. Let’s learn more about them.
Oxygen
Oxygen is the most commonly used gas in any healthcare facility. It’s required in all medical settings. It can relieve patients dealing with trauma incidents, surgeries, respiratory illnesses, and other vulnerable conditions. It provides supplemental oxygenation for patients that are dealing with hypoxia and hypoxemia.
Apart from patient resuscitation efforts and inhalation therapy, oxygen can also be used in bioreactors, incubators, and other equipment used in medical research.
Note that oxygen differs from medical air, administered in the ICU, NICU, and other patient care areas using a specific air compressor. On a related note, carbon dioxide is another common healthcare gas — but mainly for less invasive surgical procedures, such as abdominal laparoscopy and endoscopy.
Nitrogen
Unlike oxygen, which is mainly used for supplemental respiration and resuscitation efforts, medical-grade nitrogen is often used in cryosurgery and dermatological procedures. This is because it’s capable of targeting and eliminating infected tissue.
Nitrogen can also be used to freeze and preserve blood, bone marrow, cell tissues, sperm, and other biological samples that need to be studied or transported.
Meanwhile, liquid nitrogen is primarily used in healthcare settings to power surgical tools, medical research equipment, and other medical instruments.
Nitrous Oxide
Many people know nitrous oxide as the “laughing gas.” This is primarily because the healthcare gas doubles as an analgesic and an anesthetic, especially for dental surgical procedures. It could function as both pain medication and anesthesia.
However, note that nitrous oxide isn’t the same as helium gas. The latter is often used when patients need greater oxygen intake due to asthma, respiratory issues, and other health conditions obstructing the upper airway. On a related note, liquid helium can also be used to cool down MRI and NMR magnets.
Get Trusted Healthcare Gas Supplies at nexAir
The team at nexAir Healthcare understands that lives depend on what you do and how you do things. So to help you focus on saving and improving the lives of your patients, we take away the burden and distraction of monitoring your gas supply.
Whether you need portable oxygen systems or bulk gas supply, you can count on our team to handle the installation, maintenance, and monitoring so you can focus on giving patients the care that they deserve. Let our gas products and solutions contribute to your career of saving lives and allow you to Forge Forward without worries. Contact us.
Looking out for your future
Get your career going on the right track with nexAir
Industry Knowledge and Expertise
Find out how nexAir KnowHow has impacted businesses all over the Southeast
nexAir in the news
Our expertise makes us more than a valuable partner, it makes us headlines
nexAir is always open!
Don't see what you're looking for?
Everything we offer is a click away and it will arrive before you know it.
Behind every package of fresh meat, bag of pre-cut salad, and bottle of craft beer sits an invisible guardian – specialized gas mixtures that preserve flavor, extend shelf life, and ensure product safety. At nexAir, we work with food processors and packagers throughout the Southeast to develop custom gas solutions that address the unique challenges of food production. Our approach goes beyond simply supplying cylinders – we become partners in your quality control process.
The Critical Role of Gases in Food Preservation
Food spoilage begins the moment a product leaves the production line. Oxygen fuels bacterial growth, accelerates oxidation, and triggers enzymatic browning. Carbon dioxide inhibits microbial activity. Nitrogen displaces oxygen and maintains package integrity. Understanding the precise balance needed for each food product requires specialized knowledge of both gas properties and food science. Our team works at this intersection, helping you determine the optimal gas mixtures for your specific products.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging That Preserves Natural Quality
Consumers increasingly demand fresh, minimally processed foods without artificial preservatives. Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) allows you to meet these demands by replacing the air inside packaging with carefully calibrated gas mixtures. For red meats, we supply high-oxygen blends that maintain the bright red color consumers associate with freshness. For prepared salads and sliced produce, low-oxygen mixtures prevent wilting and browning without affecting taste or texture. Our custom MAP solutions help your products maintain their natural appearance and flavor profile throughout their shelf life.
Ensuring Consistent Quality Through Precision Blending
Quality control in food production demands consistency – consumers expect the same taste, appearance, and freshness with every purchase. Gas mixtures that vary from batch to batch can undermine this consistency. Our automated blending systems deliver precise gas compositions every time, eliminating the variability that can affect product quality. We regularly calibrate and certify our equipment to food-grade standards, giving you confidence that the gas touching your products meets the highest purity requirements.
Technical Support When You Need It Most
Production issues rarely happen during business hours. That's why our team remains available to help troubleshoot gas-related challenges whenever they arise. When a bakery customer noticed inconsistent product volume during an overnight shift, our on-call technician identified a pressure fluctuation in their carbon dioxide supply and quickly implemented a solution. This responsive support helps prevent quality control failures that could otherwise result in product loss and delivery delays.
Partnering for Continuous Improvement
Food trends, processing technologies, and packaging materials constantly evolve. We work with our food industry customers to regularly evaluate gas solutions against changing requirements and opportunities for improvement. Our technical team keeps you informed about innovations in gas applications that might benefit your operation. This collaborative approach helps you stay ahead of challenges and continue meeting the high-quality standards your customers expect.
Maintaining quality control in food production requires vigilance, specialized knowledge, and reliable partners. At nexAir, we provide more than just industrial gases – we deliver application expertise, responsive service, and custom solutions that address the specific challenges of your food products. Contact our food industry specialists today to discuss how our gas solutions can strengthen your quality control program and help deliver the consistent product excellence your customers demand.
Looking out for your future
Get your career going on the right track with nexAir
Find out how nexAir KnowHow has impacted businesses all over the Southeast
Our expertise makes us more than a valuable partner, it makes us headlines